I Didn’t Tame The Beastly Duke!

“…Are you awake?”

It was in the dim light of the barracks. Celia was so taken aback that she stood up and felt her head spin. As she stumbled off the bed, Leonis quickly grabbed her arm.

Celia stared at Leonis, dazed, as he put her in bed. He had seen her at a ball once, but Leonis did not remember her appearance properly.

‘Was this her face?’

He had to recall it correctly since she was an opponent who should not be forgotten. He would immediately notice something amiss regarding the woman with the refreshing energy he met at the ball the moment they were arm-in-arm at the wedding. If it had not been for her, he would have immediately removed the veil and checked her face.

‘Why are you staring at me?’

Leonis heard that she did not like it, so she took poison in despair for being betrayed by her lover. But looking at the groom’s face, who she got married to by arrangement… Wasn’t it strange.

Leonis was looking at her as well, so he could count the long eyelashes of her slowly blinking eyelids.

“Where am I? You’re…”

Who are you?

It was only then that Leonis remembered that he had never introduced himself to her. She saw him at the wedding, but he was hidden by his veil so she could not have seen his face. Celia had already passed out by the time he removed the veil.

“I am Leonis Cardian….Celia.”

Celia’s blue eyes widened slightly as if surprised when he called her name.

“This is my barracks. We succeeded in driving the monsters out of Asylus, but we have to kill the Queen. However, the work is over, so we are tracking them down.”

“Then you’re saying this place isn’t in Asylus.”

The wedding was held in the capital. The ceremony was held in Duke Cardian’s mansion, within a half hour’s reach by carriage-horse trip from Marquis Montague.

Even though it’s night now, it has only been a few hours since they’ve come this far…

‘Did he use magic?’

“I apologize for spending the first night in the barracks.”

Leonis said with a face that does not feel sorry at all. Celia realized that he was still trying to treat her as a duchess. Celia Montague was a woman who could lift his curse. Even if he wasn’t certain yet, he was sure that she could at least soften the curse.

‘I even passed out at the ceremony. You’re not thinking about doing anything tonight, are you?’

In the original story, he didn’t even want to have a relationship with Lily. It was because the madness is softened just by touch. It wasn’t until he noticed Lily was trying to kill him that he had a relationship with her. Lily accepts the relationship as well to reassure Leonis.

‘It hasn’t even been a day since I came to this world.’

I’m already married yet I am thirsting for the male lead! I even got married instead of the original heroine!

‘No. In this case, is the female lead my replacement?’

Celia still felt like she was having a strange dream, sweet or not. She assumed she would wake up at the emergency room when she awoke from this dream.

“…What about your body?”

Leonis asked, accepting Celia’s silence. Celia looked at herself tiredly. She wasn’t wearing a dress, so it was either luck or misfortune.

Celia stared down at her clothes, puzzled, and Leonis said in a small voice:

“I had the maids change your clothes in the bride’s waiting room.”

He also changed clothes on the spot without leaving the waiting room, but he did not tell her that. He had a hunch that Celia would be angry.

‘Come to think of it….’

She needed something to eat and drink. No, first and foremost, I was thirsty.

“Water….”

When Celia raised her head and looked at Leonis, he glanced at her with a puzzled expression, as if to say, “Why is she staring at me?” Celia had a blank expression on her face.

‘Can I move while I’m sick?’

Leonis frowned and rose from his seat, because Celia’s face did not provide any sign of having that intention from her expression alone.

In the barracks, there was a table beside the bed, as well as a water cup and a kettle. Even when chasing monsters, nobles were said to be accompanied by an attendant, yet there was no bell rope here.

She could not call the servants who could communicate with all of the knights and soldiers.

Leonis walked over to the table, filled a glass with water, and handed it to Celia. She looked at him with a bright face and pulled his hand with the water cup rather than the water cup itself.

‘Hmm?’

Leonis flinched, surprised.

He always started his morning with slaughter because of the curse, and everyone, even those closest to him, was accustomed to fear him. It was only natural that the smell of blood was ingrained on his body.

It is normal for him to kill monsters or people every day. He was especially feared by young girls and ladies, who trembled at the sight of him.

At the wedding, he used a terrible perfume to remove the smell of blood, but he had just come back from a bath. Celia would have noticed since he smelled of blood.

“What are you doing….”

Celia was already drinking water after tilting the cup with Leonis’ hand. She couldn’t answer his question, swallowing the water with one gulp. It was an act that made his throat ache for quite some time.

“My hands are shaking…I’m sorry.”

As she said, Celia’s little hands were trembling. He had felt it when she grabbed his arm at the wedding. He thought it was simply because Celia hated this marriage.

[……Suspicious memory loss.]

He suddenly remembered the end of the report sent by the spies he planted in Marquis Montague’s house. Seeing Celia smiling brightly at him, he became convinced.

“Do you know who I am?”

“Didn’t you just tell me? My husband… It’s you, Lord.”

Celia had already made up her mind that she would give him the name ‘nim’ because she was scared right now. It remains to be seen who will become the ‘nim’ later [1].

Leonis squinted, suspiciously looking at Celia.

“I’m hungry.”

She really wanted to tell him to fuck off because she can’t stand what he’s been doing. Since the wedding was performed throughout the day, she hasn’t eaten anything, and now that she’d woken up, she was starving. She couldn’t tell him to put up with it. She needed help.

“I’ll get you some food.”

“I…”

At her hurried voice, Leonis’s brows rose. It seemed that no good words would come out if she was trying to ask him to bring something.

Celia murmured as her cheeks turned red.

“That, my hands are shaking….I’d like to have a servant or a maid. May I have it?”

There was a servant who had accompanied Leonis because he was the Duke Cardian. However, the maids for Celia were not ready. It was half impulsiveness that brought her in.

While he was hunting and chasing the monsters, he was convinced that Celia would either commit suicide or flee. It was Leonis who reflexively recalled his servant, but thinking about Celia enjoying the soup that his servant had prepared made him feel like his heart was turning upside down.

Even though he didn’t have any feelings for Celia yet. In any case, she was his wife, the Duchess Cardian. Conversely, he can wake the knights who were sleeping in the barracks and have them serve her…

‘There will be rumors. The crazy killer is obsessed with his wife.’

It would be great to wake a knight up to serve her, but that was what the aristocracy’s rumors were all about. Besides, Cardian didn’t want people under his command who fought for their lives to serve anyone. But he doesn’t want to be a servant.

“…….”

Leonis turned his back and left the barracks without making a conclusion. Celia stuck out her tongue while looking at his back.

She’d read in the novel that he was possessive, but she wasn’t Lily, so she wasn’t sure how he would react.

‘Will the servant come? If not….’

She wouldn’t have forced Leonis to prepare anything, but it appears that Leonis had directed someone, whether his servant or lieutenant, to prepare dinner for Celia. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have brought it so quickly.

Leonis walked into the barracks’ entrance tent with a bowl of steaming soup in his hand. Celia felt sorry for him, but that was how a sick person would eat.

“Well, the other one—”

“Who am I supposed to wake up tonight?”

Leonis answered bluntly. It was fine to call a servant even in the middle of the night if he wanted to, but it was not a decent attitude.

He sat down beside Celia, holding the bowl of soup, and examined her reaction. He must have been loathsome and he expected to be pushed to the side…

“I’m hungry. Give me the food.”

It wasn’t that it didn’t smell like blood, but she was a Korean who enjoyed eating broth soup to cure a hangover. People can smell blood in their lives, what can you do?

By the way, most of the things that Leonis killed every day were monsters. If there was a shortage of demand, he would be assigned to death rows for prisoners in other regions.

It was supposed to be killing livestock, but the number had to be considerable. It was the same with wild animals, so he preferred monsters or humans, which could suppress the madness by killing one.

Leonis was surprised to realize that Celia’s expression had remained unchanged. Although he had an expressionless face, Celia also had a great poker face.

Of course, Celia was not deceived either. It was the first time she’d seen such a handsome man in person, and she was in the same room as him.

‘My heart will come out of my mouth.’

She had no intention of revealing the fact that her heart was shaking and pounding. He was the one who made the most of the opportunities of whatever was available.

I had no intention of showing any gaps to the male lead of the rated 19 novel. She’s not even the heroine.

“Is it hot?”

Celia glanced at the bowl and asked Leonis. Leonis frowned, wondering if he should blow it to cool it down.

Notes:

[1] Nim (님 ) can be roughly translated to “Mister” or “Madam” in English. In the second sentence, nim can also refer to “master”